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Town adopts strict standards for sports field lighting By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF 3 · Friday, April 9, 2010 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.oakvillebeaver.com The Town of Oakville has adopted what may be the highest standards in North America for the regulation of sports field lighting. Council voted Tuesday night to pass a number of staff recommendations that will dictate exactly when and how sports fields can be lit. The regulations, which are made up of both LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and IESNA (Illumination Engineering Society of North America) standards, include: · a light level limit of 1.1 lux (equivalent to moon-lit night) at the boundary of sports fields established in existing neighbourhoods. · the light level must drop to 0.11 lux (a lighting level so low it is difficult to measure) three metres beyond this property line. · Future sports fields will have a lighting level allowance of 1.1 lux at the site boundary, which is defined as the nearest residential property line. · Existing lit fields currently managed by the Town, will be grandfathered with these lighting systems being retrofitted to the approved standards -- where possible and practical -- when they are replaced. · Operation of Town-managed lit fields or lit fields under a reciprocal agreement shall require a permit issued by the Town. · Field lights would be operated by the permit holder, who will be responsible for turning the lights on at the start of the event and turning them off within 15 minutes of the completion of the game or activity. · Failure to comply with these rules may result in the cancellation of any or all existing or future permits (including all other field permits) held by the permit holder. · The lights on sports fields in existing neighbourhoods will have a 9 p.m. curfew while future fields will have an 11 p.m. curfew. · Field lighting will be permitted to operate between the period of May 1 to Sept. 30, unless the field has been designated by the Town as an `early' or `late' field, in which case lights for such fields can be operated between the period of April 1 to Oct. 31. · Lights for fields with artificial turf will be permitted to operate between the period of March 1 to Nov. 30, weather permitting. · The field lighting will be available to operate seven days a week with the exception of lighting in existing neighbourhoods, which will not operate on the weekends. A number of residents have voiced concerns about the introduction of lights at sports fields in Oakville, with particular reference to the fields of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Secondary School and St. Ignatius of Loyola Catholic Secondary School. Residents who live near these fields list the glare, noise, decreased property value and increased traffic as the key reasons they want to keep the lights off. Southwest Central Residents' Association (SCORA) President Charles Johnston called on council to continue looking for ways to restrict the introduction of lights to sports fields in established neighbourhoods, but said if this could not be done the recommended regulations should be adopted. He also called for proper enforcement of the regulations. Halton Catholic District School Board Superintendent of Facility Management Services Giacomo Corbacio said he was unsure what the impact would be on the Loyola and St. Thomas Aquinas projects, but said the board would be moving forward to find out. "We are respectful of the Town's guidelines and what they've adopted and we're hoping to continue working with the Town with our site plan application," he said. "As that process continues, we'll find out what the impacts are exactly at that point." A full list of the recommendations can be viewed at www.oakville.ca. 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